Parquet-floor composite sections



March 9 1926;

E. s. DANIELS PARQUET FLOOR COMPOSITE SECTIONS Filed March 15, 1925 cnvankoz 6/me4t (112m; 9%

MA 3 bbouw a Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST STUART DANIELS, 01' WEST POINT, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN ALEX- ANDER HUGH CAMERON, TRUSTEE, OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

PABQUET-FLOOR COMPOSITE SECTIONS.

Application filed March 13, 1925. Serial No. 15,271.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST STUART Damnns, a subject of the King of England, residing at West Point, in the county of 6 King William and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Parquet-Floor Composite Sections; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the 10 invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains'to make and use the same.

This invention is desi ed as an improvement on the structure s own and described 16 in my co-pending application, Serial No. 15,-

270 filed Mar. '13, 1925, relating to floor and wall construction and more particularly to what is commonly known as parquetry flooring and wall panelling. The principal 20 object is to provide floor or wall panels constructed in composite sections having integral means for securing or joining a multiplicity of sections together in assembled cross-grain relation. by interlocking tongueand-groove connections to form a solid floor or wall without necessity for other fastening means than said interlocking connections.

A further object is to provide rigid sections of the character referred to from 80 which durable parquetry floors, paneled walls and ceilings of attractive appearance, may be expediently, efficiently and economicall constructed.

e invention will first be hereinafter as more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as a part of this specification and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of several sections or panels embodyin this invention, which are joined in pairs and shown in relative position for interconnection or assembly with each other to form a 4B portion of a parquet floor, the several sections being substantially square in surface area;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinalside elevation of one of the composite sections;

toget Fig. 4 is a plan view of a single com-v posite section, e means for rigidly holding 1ts several pieces together being indicated in dotted lines; and

5 is a perspective view of the preferred form of transverse splining rods or pins employed for compositely uniting the several pieces of a section together.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference numerals are used to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 6 denotes the composite flooring sections, which as clearl shown in Fi s. 1, 2 and 4, are individua y formed of mfitiple pieces of odd planking, boards or scrap material of equal lengths, united or secured together longitudinally in a-composite structure with their edges and surfaces flush and the grain of the wood in the respective pieces running in substantially the same direction, said pieces being united or secured rigidly metal splining rods or pins 7 extending across substantially the full width of the sections intermediate the ends thereof, said rods or-pins being extendingly inserted in and through corresponding or registering holes or channels bored or drilled through the respective ieces of the sections trans versely while t e latter are held under lateral compression, said pins or rods being er by means of transverse wooden or referably glue-coated in order to prevent oosening or withdrawal and hold the pieces of the sections more firmly in place as a rigid structure.

These sections as illustrated, are formed with tenons 8 providing integral projecting tongues on op osite ends thereof, said tenons being pre erably formed or cut on the ends of the sections after the component parts thereof are united in a composite structure as set forth above, the outer ed s along opposing sides of the sections eing kerfed or grooved as at 9 to a standard depth equal substantially to the width of the tenons on their ends, within which the extended tongues or tenons of similarly formed sections are adapted snugly to fit in interlocking engagement therewith. These sections or panels may be formed in'any desired size or shape (square, oblong or diamond) and any suitable material may be utilized as the component parts thereof, the several pieces of each section being joined together in the manner described.

The section splining rods or pins may be uniform or smooth in contour, that is of the simpler form denoted by the numeral 7 in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, or grooved or notched at spaced intervals to provide a series of peripheral undulations or crevices as shown in Fig. 5, in which a splining rod 10 of preferred form is illustrated, the grooves or notches therein forming pockets for the glue for more rigidly causing the rods to adhere in place within the sections and hold the respective pieces thereof more firmly and positively together, the extremities of the rods terminating flush with the countersunk edges in the grooved sides of the sections, in order that they may not extend into said grooves andprevent the tenons on correspondingly formed sections from complementarily and snugly fitting therein, with consequent gaps or spaces between contiguous edges of adjacent sections.

, It may here be noted that the component parts or pieces of the several sections or panels are first preferably united in a composite structure by means of the splining rods or pins 7 or 10 above referred to, after which the outer edges of the outer pieces in each section are kerfed .or grooved to provide longitudinal recesses or grooves in opposite sides thereof, and that the tenons are thereafter formed or cut on opposing ends of the panels, thus providingcomposite sections which are interchangeably adapted to assembly in alternate cross-grain relation, by interlocking tongue-and-groove connections with each other.

As indicated in Fig. 1, a multiplicity of similarly formed sections may be readily and quickly assembled by inter-engaging or interlocking tongue-and-groove connections and cross-grain relation to each other in the manner described, to produce a solid, durable and attractivefloor, wall or ceiling structure. If desired, edge or border-strips,

A of the form shown in my co-pending application hereinbefore mentioned, may be employed in order to facilitate the assembly and effect a somewhat neater and more attractive appearance 'to the completed floor. The sections or panels are secured in interlocking engagement with such edge or border-strips and with each other, by means of the tenons which are fitted or pressed snugly within the opposing grooved edges of bor er-strip and sides of similarly formed sections. Where opposingly grooved edges between sections, or between a section and a border-strip, are brought into meeting contact, removable splines of the character shown and described in my co-pending applicationmeferred to, may be employed to necessity for removable splines, nailing or other fastening means to each other.

The sections are thus assembled in connection with each other, each section being laid or arranged with the grain of the wood therein running at substantially right angles to the grain of the wood in its adjacent sections, the tenon or tenons on each section being engaged in grooved edges along the sides of adjacent sections. It will be appreciated that any tendency of the wood to warp in the sections thus formed, will be effectually prevented by the individual splining rods or pins 7 orlO, and the interlocking connections therebetween, in which the. tenons of each section are efiectually clamped in a vise-like manner within grooved edges ofadjacent sections, thus holding the same rigidly together in cooperative relation, so that the floor will not buckle nor shrink with spaces between sections, when the wood swells or shrinks, causing unevenness or gaps in the fioor.

In like manner, the sections may be utilized to construct a wall or ceiling, the tenoned ends of the sections being engageable within longitudinal grooves in the studding or joists of a building under construction. I desire it to be understood that the word flooring as used in the appended claims, is intended to include not only flooring material, but wall panels, partitions, paneled ceiling and various other structures in which my invention might be used.

Furthermore, in the broader aspects of the invention, other material than wood might be used to form similarly tongued and grooved sections or panels adapted to perform the same functions as sections formed of wood, and I therefore do not wish to restrict my invention to parquetr fioors or wall panels made entirely of woo although the latter material is preferable.

An attractive-and durable floor may be economically constructed with flooring section of the form described, in which heretofore waste products of lumber, such as short pieces of flooring material which are usually cast ofi for fire-wood, may be economically utilized. Furthermore, hard but inexpensive wood which has been heretofore unfit for use as ordinary hard-wood flooring'because of its tendency to split, and for such reason having a very low market value as compared with other woods, may be used in the sections without danger of the latter coming apart or loosening from place, upon splitting of the wood at any point.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A parquet flooring comprising individually formed composite sections of flooring material inter-connected and held together in assembled relation by tongue and groove connections on their sides and ends with the grain of the wood in each section running substantially at right angles to the grain of the wood in adjacent sections, the tongues extending along opposite ends of the sections and the grooves extending along opposite sides thereof,-the individual sections being composed of a plurality of wooden pieces of equal lengths placed edge to edge and having registering transverse holes therethrough intermediate the ends of the sections and transverse wooden binder rods forcibly inserted through said holes while said pieces are held together under lateral compression so as to form the sections in inseparable composite structures with the grain of the wood in the several pieces rum ning in substantially the same direction, the extremities of said rods and the tongues of each section terminating flush with the countersunk edges of the grooves in opposite sides thereof.

2. A parquet flooring comprising individually formed composite sections of flooring material inter-connected and held together in assembled relation by tongue and groove connections on their sides and ends with the grain of the wood in each section running substantially at right angles to the grain of the wood in adjacent sections, the tongues extending along opposite ends of the sections and the grooves extending along opposite sides thereof, the individual sections being composed of a plurality of wooden pieces of equal lengths placed edge to edge and having registering transverse holes therethrough intermediate the ends of .the sections and transverse Wooden binder rods coated with an adhesive substance and forcibly inserted through said holes while said pieces are held together under lateral compression so as to form the sections in inseparable laterally compressed and adhe sively bound composite structures with the grain of the wood in the several pieces running in substantially the same direction, the

extremities of said rods and the tongues of each section terminating' flush with the countersunk edges of the grooves in opposite sides thereof.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

' ERNEST STUART DANIELS 

